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February 17, 2011

Collect Share - Thrifted Art

Collect Share - Thrifted Art - Paint by Number $5

I blame my obsession with art on my parents. If you visit their house you might step one foot into the foyer before you be greeted by a piece of vintage, thrifted art. When you continue into the living room you'll discover more art. They've tried to limit the number of items in the main living areas leaving the stairway to the basement with a museum like feel as you wander down the creaky old steps of their 1915 home. There are pictures and paintings covering most of the wall space as well as clocks, Big Mouth Billy Bass (much to my mother's horror) and a bell from a trolley car. Keiran takes at least 7 minutes to get down the stairs after inspecting each frame carefully, dropping a penny in the plastic slot machine and ringing the trolley bell a few times. Yet I still love every bit of their home and the warmth that I feel when I am there.

Art can also be very expensive. Luckily as thrifters we can barely get out of a rummage sale without falling over painting after painting. I try to resist my need for more art but I don't usually listen to my sane self and instead bring home another piece.

This came from a fabulous sale of a house full of Mid Century Modern. This is the same house where this clock came from. I spent 2 1/2 hours at the sale and these owls were the first thing I grabbed. This piece was $35 and it's actually intended for my friend Jacki but I got lazy and decided that I didn't want to ship it. Maybe this will entice her for a visit. Or if she doesn't want it it can stay on our living room wall with our other owl collection.

I bought this last year for $35 from an estate sale. It's one of my favorite pieces in my home. That bird nest leaves me weak in the knees every time I look at it.

Thrift Owl Art $1

Dogwood Flowers - Thrifted

Sometimes I buy art because it reminds me of something small. I always remember my mother telling me about Dogwood being her mother's favorite flower. I never met my grandmother but I think of her every time I pass by this painting in the hallway.

I think I'm the only one in the house that likes this painting. This is just a small bit of it. The entire painting is the largest one we own. It usually is on the mantel but C Jere owls on the branch are currently there so this is in the hallway. I fell in love with this when it was $60 at an estate sale. I came back on the half off day and took it home for $30. Dave definitely wondered w.t.h. I was doing when I walked in with it. It reminds me of the sea and I like it. That's enough for me.

Thrift art with texture. $10.

This reminds me of Northern Wales for some reason.

$12 from an estate sale. I bought this for a silly reason. It reminds me just a little bit of the painting in Holiday in Handcuffs. Do you remember the painting at the end of the movie? When you do a search for it on Google you'll find lot so of people looking for it. The movie was painted by Sarah Jane Holtom but there aren't any photos that I can link to. It's a shame because Sarah's painting was so beautiful. This painting above is a Sonoma County artist.

My last piece to share was made by Keiran using thrifted craft paper. He created this for me the last time he was sick. His favorite medium to work with at the moment is paper. He loves to make pop-up cards, sculptures and art.

What is your favorite piece of thrifted art in your home?

Do you Collect anything that you have blogged about recently?

We Thrift - We Craft - We Share

Here are some guidelines if you would like to join Collect Share:

Your Collect Share post should include at least one item that is 2nd hand.

Create a blog post with photos about your recent addition to your collection. Or write a post that features your entire collection.

If possible, give us some background about what you collect such as where items are made or who designed them. We'd love to read about why you collect and when you first started collecting.

Link your Collect Share post back to Apron Thrift Girl.

Link to your Collect Share post on Apron Thrift Girl using inlinkz. There will be inlinkz on every Collect Share post so that you can add your photo and link back to your blog.

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Comments

Oh, I love your art! My favorites being the bird's nest and the paint by number. And of course, your sweet boy's art! that is really awesome.

art is the first thing i look for when i go to an estate sale. i found a really cool vintage oil painting at an estate sale in wenatchee last fall. i hung around until everything was half off and then bought it for $8. it turns out that it was framed at a shop that no longer exists, but was once very close to our current home. it hangs on the wall at the foot of our bed and i love, love, love seeing it every night when i go to sleep.

Art is my #1 favorite thing to thrift for and collect. I'm *Completely* in love with every single piece you have- we share the same taste in expressive/imperfect art.

Been meaning to do collection posts for years, but I need to wait the best lighting to take pictures :) We've got to show our collection at their best. (Also, don't think I've seen that vintage paint by number before on this blog- love those bright colors!!!)

love the bird's nest one and the one that you love too - would love to see the whole thing. some of my favourite framed pieces of art are ones my son made throughout his time in school. i have glue art, shape art, "in the style of" art(andy warhol and emily carr) and more. they're so cool. i love your son's paper art too. we do occasional art shows at our church where we'll have a theme and invite artists of all ages to contribute. i'm always blown away by what the kids come up with; they are deep, deep thinkers. do you ever re-sell art? and if so, how do you know when you're buying it, if it'll be worth reselling?

All of these are so wonderful. Unfortunately, thrift art is waaay overpriced in my neck of the woods. People seem to think if it is a real painting (not a print) it may be painted by a recognized artist, so let's price it at $30. Usually it's just by some dude who took an art class. Those are usually my favorite kinds of art work, too.

What great finds! By the way, I just picked up the blue vase that is shown next to your picture with the birch trees in snow. Do you know anything about it? I cannot make out the name underneath, but I love the color and form.

Most of my art is also second-hand. Come to think of it, are there any big art museums who have NOT gotten their collections second hand? Their second-hand prices are just sooo much higher ;-)

Karin, the vase you mentioned in my post is rather collectible. Do a search for Bitossi and you should find a lot of links with more information. Many of the pieces are just signed Italy with numbers.
Ive sold a couple Bitossi pieces for around $100 each.
xoxo
Selena

i don't seem to collect as many things as i used to. As a kid I collected erasers, stickers, rocks, books (ok I still collect books)... my dad collects broken clocks that he fixes and pen knives (I have three two that my dad gave me and one that was .50 cents at an estate sale and was brand new. I have a steadily rising collection of vintage buttons in black, white/mop, and red that i use to make my little dolls with and random other special little crafts.

I think our home is starting to gain a personality of it own and I keep bring back little bits hear and there. The only thing collection worthy is Matt's vintage cameras, there are about a dozen or so tucked away in the living room and a few more in his office. and I always look out for them when I'm in antique shops and charity shops. He has a few on his list that he wants so I keep on the look out for them.

My parents home has always been filled with art and I happily look at all the paintings that I used to spend hours gazing at when I was a kid. It makes me happy

We have a little thrifted colored pencil piece (unsigned) of the Pike Street Market in Seattle hanging in our guest bathroom, and I love it. I found it in Austin, on a day when I was particularly missing the PNW, and it seemed like a sign.